Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-10

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

Five months ago, you started renting an apartment on a six-month agreement. You now wish to stay in the apartment for longer than the six months you originally agreed with the owner.

Write a letter to the owner of your apartment. In your letter

• say how long you now want to rent the apartment for
• explain why your plans have changed
• tell the owner about a problem in the apartment

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear ....................................,

Student answer (Band 6.5)

Dear Usman,

I am writing to request a three-month extension to my tenancy agreement in your apartment. Our initial agreement was six months due to my industrial training I started in the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital. The extended period is for my National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) program which is mandatory for every Nigerian Graduates that are through with their education.

Unfortunately, The application for the the program is yet to be opened because of several backlogs of students that has applied and not gone for service. Also I would like to inform you about the leakage that is happening in my apartment. The kitchen tap is spoilt and does not turn off properly which causes spillage to the floor. In addition, the window in my room is broken, I mentioned this problem to your caretaker when I moved into the apartment but he is yet to repair it.

Thank you, I hope my request is considered promptly.

Yours sincerely

Ajawara Chidimma

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The letter successfully addresses all three bullet points required by the prompt. You clearly state the desired extension length, provide a logical reason for the change in plans related to your NYSC program, and identify specific maintenance issues (the kitchen tap and the broken window). The tone is appropriate for a formal request to a landlord. To reach a higher band, you could expand slightly on the impact of the maintenance issues to demonstrate a more sophisticated level of task development, but overall, the response is complete and fulfills the requirements of the task effectively.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is logically organized with a clear introduction, body, and conclusion. You use some cohesive devices such as 'Unfortunately', 'Also', and 'In addition' to link your ideas. However, the paragraphing is somewhat underdeveloped; the entire body of the letter is contained in one block. Breaking the letter into distinct paragraphs—one for the request and reason, and another for the maintenance issues—would significantly improve the flow and readability. The progression of ideas is clear, but the transition between the request for an extension and the report of the apartment problems could be smoother.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task. Phrases like 'tenancy agreement', 'mandatory', and 'backlogs' are used correctly. There are some minor issues with word choice, such as 'spoilt' (which is more commonly used for food; 'broken' or 'faulty' is better for a tap) and 'spillage' (which is slightly unnatural in this context; 'leaking' or 'flooding' would be more precise). While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning clearly, it lacks the variety and precision required for higher bands. Focusing on more natural collocations will help improve your score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are some grammatical errors, such as 'the the' (repetition), 'students that has applied' (subject-verb agreement error; should be 'have'), and 'that are through with' (slightly informal). Punctuation is generally functional, though some sentences could be refined for better clarity. While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and proofreading for minor slips will help you achieve greater accuracy.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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